Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher

() Follows a seventeen-year-old girl, Debbie, (AKA Tallulah,) who has run away from an overbearing home life to seek her friend that had also previously escaped to Florida. The issue is: her driver has robbed and ditched her. So she's destitute until a series of misfortunes, (and an act of kindness,) lands her a temporary stay in a generous woman's home and a job at the local veterinary clinic. From there on, it's non-stop soap opera drama. She even successfully resuscitates a near-dead baby. Wouldn't this make a great teen movie?
It's pretty crazy, and it gets even crazier as the sought Florida friend, (who, by the way, is also bipolar,) comes into the picture. It's a bit unrealistic in the trail of unfortunate events littered throughout, but very easy to relate to and definitely illustrates Tallulah's story of growth quite well.